All things are new
2 Cor. 5:17-6:2
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
He has reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.
The word reconciled literally means- to take something ugly, and make it beautiful. To restore it. Like an old decrepit vehicle, that is old and broken down on the side of the road.
Some people take great pride in finding an old car, that has grown up in the bushes, and missing parts, and restoring it to its original condition. Others like to find old houses, and remodel them, and bring them back to their original beauty.
They spend countless hours, days and nights working. Sanding down the paint, or trim. Researching How it may have looked originally, and laboring intensely to get the project back to the way it was.
We can relate to these things in the natural, but it is the same concept in the spiritual.
In the spirit realm, God sends his own son in to the earth, that we may be made beautiful in his sight. Because sin is ugly. Our condition before we become new creatures is so ugly, that God can not even look upon us. He can’t even stand the smell of our sin stench.
There is a difference between sinning, and being a sinner.
Some will say you sin everyday, some will say you don’t have to sin everyday,
No matter where you stand on this issue, The bible does say, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Sin everyday or not, God has made a way for man to be reconciled, to have taken the old lump of clay, and turn it into something beautiful for his use, a vessel if you will.
The word sin actually means missing the mark. Falling short of God‘s commandments.
To someone who does not know the Lord, who we may call a sinner, they miss the mark continually, because they are not aiming towards anything.
But to someone who is trying to do everything that they can to be in God’s will, and they come up short occasionally , they have sinned.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new.
Things here, describes old mindsets, and thought patterns. Anything that used to control you. Any thought or idea that used to dominate your life, must have passed away.
And all things are of God who has reconciled us to himself, by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. That is to say, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and has committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
The ministry of reconciliation, is the service of letting people know that they can be restored. The service of giving hope. The service of saying there is a way.
Because that is what God does for us. He took something that was sin ridden, and filthy in the mire and muck of life, and he rebuilt it, so that it no longer contains the old poison, and lead paint, but that we are now the very temple which houses the Holy Ghost of God.
Our mission as a church, is not to tell people how bad they are, when you are in sin, you know how bad you are. Our mission is to let them know about the reconciliation, and hope that lies within God.
That no matter how bleak and dim their future may seem, with God all things are possible.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us.
We are representatives of Christ. The Church is the only representative of Christ that is in this world. You question God “what is my mission” what is my ministry” what am I supposed to be doing for you Lord”
Paul said here that our ministry is to go about as ambassadors for the king of kings, and let people know about his ability to make you a new creature.
To let those who are lost know that without faith, it is impossible to please God, and that he that comes to God must first believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
Our ministry is to give hope to a lost and dying world.
Our ministry is to let others know about all that God has brought you form.
Our ministry is to be the best representatives that we can be, and love one another, as Christ Loved the church.
Our ministry is to let others know of the goodness, and mercy and grace of an almighty God, who sent his only son into the world, just to restore a relationship with you.
Our ministry is to go into all of the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, making disciples of them.
Whenever you question the ministry that God has called you into, start here. When you come to a point of frustration and question whether or not God has even called you to do a work, you can start with this one.
Elijah came to a point in his life, he had felt that he had done everything that he could do, and he was actually suicidal at one point. He was all alone, he was depressed. He had seen the mighty working hand of God, as he called down fire upon the sacrifice. He had slain the 450 prophets of baal, but now he was all alone.
As he went away into the cave to hide from God, he said Oh God that you would just take my life from me. God said what is wrong Elijah?
He said, I’ve done everything that I know to do, but no one will listen to me. He said The children of Israel have torn down your altars, and slain all of your prophets with the sword, and I am the only one left.
How many times have we thought that we were the only ones going through a trial. One thing that I can promise you, is that you are not alone. There is no temptation afflicting you, such as is common to man.
Elijah said, I am the only one left Lord, God said unto him, I have many others in this nation who have not yet bowed down unto baal, nor kissed the idol, you are not alone.
And I feel that this is where the Lord would have us to be tonight, knowing, that no matter what you are going through, Jesus said he would never leave you nor forsake you.
You have made it through everything that you have for a reason, and for a purpose. This is the ministry of reconciliation. Letting you know that even if you go to the ends of the earth, God will be right there with you.
